die Dinge an sich

The title of this work is a reference to German philosopher Immanuel Kant and the expression ‘das Ding an sich’, which contends that we as human beings are not able to perceive the world in its true form. That is, following his Constructivist perspective, we can perceive things and phenomena through the distortion of our senses, but never ‘the thing in itself’ (‘das Ding an sich’). The installation plays with this idea by creating a highly dynamic and ever-changing sculpture. The viewer’s individual experience informs how they perceive the patterns and shapes.

The technical core of the work is made up of 144 controllable propellers that set millions of styrofoam grains in motion. A custom built tracking system detects any movement around the glass cube and adjust the speed of the propellers accordingly. The more movement is detected, the more nervous and erratic the system gets – mirroring the reaction of a living organism.